What none of them knew was that in the Astral Express’s monitor room, Welt’s eyes were fixed on the man silently standing in the back of the group.
That familiar face—he would never forget it for the rest of his life.
…
“How could he be here?” Welt paced back and forth on the Astral Express.
“Kevin Kaslana died a long time ago, didn’t he? Could it be that the Honkai is still chasing after me?”
Meanwhile, the others didn’t seem overly concerned about the Doomsday Beast’s attack.
“If it’s just the Doomsday Beast, we can probably handle it. But if a Lord Ravager shows up too…”
“A Lord Ravager? What’s that?” Stelle looked at Himeko in confusion.
“Let’s get out of here first. I’ll explain everything when we have more time.” Himeko glanced at Stelle.
“Follow me. The platform isn’t far from here.”
Before long, after passing through the final door, they finally spotted the platform.
“I can see the platform! Yes!” March 7th’s heart leaped with joy as the destination grew closer.
“The Astral Express isn’t here yet.”
“It might be nearby. My eyesight’s great, so I’ll go take a look first.” With that, March 7th quickened her pace and stepped onto the platform.
Just then, a fierce gust of wind swept through.
Dan Heng and the others rushed forward.
“Watch out, March!”
Watching the massive creature slowly descend from the sky, Himeko’s eyes filled with concern.
Inside the space station, her orbital cannon wasn’t easy to deploy, and Welt hadn’t arrived yet.
“The Doomsday Beast… it actually came?” She glanced at Stelle beside her.
March 7th drew her bow and aimed it at the Doomsday Beast in the sky.
“Come on down if you dare!”
As if understanding her challenge, the Doomsday Beast swooped down from the sky and landed at the edge of the platform.
The shockwave from its massive body forced everyone back.
“Dammit. Everyone, get ready to fight!” Dan Heng summoned his spear and took the front line.
Phainon gripped his greatsword warily, staring at the colossal creature before him.
Even in his homeland, enemies as powerful as the Doomsday Beast were few and far between.
For some reason, he was especially sensitive to anything tainted with the power of Destruction, as if he were naturally meant to stand above them, destined to become their leader.
“Another one of those random delusions?” Phainon shook his head, pushing aside the stray thoughts.
“Focus, Phainon. You have companions to protect.”
Just then, the system stirred in his mind once more.
[Ding! Detected host is currently facing an anti-planetary weapon: Doomsday Beast. Achievement unlocked: ‘Step by Step Understanding the Path of Destruction.’ Reward: Sword – Dawnmaker.]
Since time didn’t pass while he conversed with the system in his mind, Phainon examined the finely crafted longsword that now appeared in his grasp, studying it carefully.
“This sword feels like it was custom-made for me.” He gave it a few practice swings.
“With this, my strength will take a huge leap forward.”
He then looked up the sword’s description.
The legendary Amphoreus blacksmith Chartonus crafted this blade at the request of Phainon, the Chrysos Heir and savior.
It was modeled after the Flame Reaver’s black sword.
“This is… a sword I commissioned Chartonus to make?” Phainon was taken aback by Dawnmaker’s description.
“How is that possible? I’ve never asked Chartonus for anything like this. Could it be another version of me from a different world?”
“Whatever. Hesitation isn’t the mark of a savior. Since this blade has become my sword, I will wield it to protect everyone and make all their wishes come true!”
Raising Dawnmaker, Phainon charged to the front of the group.
Seeing him, March 7th quickly cast an ice shield on him and called out a warning as he approached the Doomsday Beast.
“Be careful, Phainon! My shield increases your aggro—the Doomsday Beast will focus on you!”
“No problem, partner! I’ll be the one to lead the charge!” Before he could finish, the Doomsday Beast’s silver-white left hand came crashing down at him.
Phainon twisted his body just in time, barely dodging the attack.
Before he could catch his breath, the jet-black right hand swept sideways toward the group.
Even with March 7th’s shield, Phainon was knocked back.
But the team’s coordination was no joke.
While the Doomsday Beast’s attention was fixed on Phainon, Dan Heng had already circled around to its left hand, which had just finished attacking.
He hurled Cloud-Piercer with all his might, and cracks began to form across its surface.
The wounded Doomsday Beast naturally retaliated.
It brought both hands together toward the core at its center, seemingly charging up an even more powerful attack.
Recognizing its intent, Himeko’s drones flew forward and interrupted the charging right hand.
She turned to Stelle, who had found a good position.
Hearing this, Stelle gripped her baseball bat with one hand and shouted, “Rules are made to be broken!” With a single swing, she struck the Doomsday Beast’s cracked left hand.
With a resounding CRACK, the left hand hung limp and useless, leaving only the right hand to prevent the group from approaching the energy core.
Phainon seized the opportunity.
As the right hand swept toward them once more, he leaped high into the air, clearing the attack’s range.
With Dawnmaker in hand, he brought it down upon the core with all his might.
“Dawn creates the world, heaven and earth part asunder!”
The soaring sword light cleaved the core in two, and the Doomsday Beast’s massive body crashed to the ground.
Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, March 7th let out a long sigh of relief.
“That’s it? The Doomsday Beast isn’t all that impressive after all!”
She called everyone together.
“Come on, come on! This is our first mission with two new friends, so we definitely need to take a group photo here!”
She raised her camera, and the five of them broke into smiles.
“Now say cheese!” March 7th flashed a peace sign and pressed the shutter.
Click.
Their smiling faces were captured on the camera’s film.
But the moment the photo was taken, the Doomsday Beast suddenly sprang back to life.
It shot into the air, brought its hands together in front of its chest, and then flung them open.
Dozens of yellow lasers erupted from its core, rapidly closing in on the unsuspecting group.
“I knew you weren’t dead yet.” From the very beginning, Phainon had felt something was off.
He had kept a close eye on the Doomsday Beast, and that intuition allowed him to react in the nick of time.
Phainon raised Dawnmaker and stood firmly in front of the others, shielding them.
The searing lasers scorched his skin.
He was never someone who could withstand high temperatures.
In fact, the last time he’d faced extreme heat, he’d passed out during a sauna endurance contest with Mydeimos.
Yet here he was, the one person who feared heat the most, standing in the path of an enemy’s blazing attack to protect everyone behind him.
Under normal circumstances, Phainon would have already collapsed from the heat.
But now, he carried the weight of a savior’s duty.
His back had never been empty—he had the Astral Express crew to protect, and he had everyone in Amphoreus waiting for him.
Snapping out of their shock, the others joined in, pushing back against the Doomsday Beast’s assault.